Just Say Yes

Sentimental post coming straight to your heart. If you don't like it. Turn your eyes away.

Being in Santorini, Greece is nothing short of beautiful and amazing. If you were to ask me how I would describe it, I would probably just stare at you blankly until you decided to awkwardly change the subject. Why? Because coming here means so much more to me than I could ever explain. It's my last stint as a college student. Wahhhh wahhh. I know right? But it's actually a lot deeper than that. It feels like it's been the first thing I've done in a long time without being held back. CURVEBALL.

Let me explain. All through college, I spent most of my time saying no. No to my friends, no to work, no to weekends with the girls, to Cornstock, etc etc. Why? Because I had someone in my life that would ultimately wind up meaning absolutely nothing to me and essentially be nothing other than a familiar face in the crowd. I'm extremely disappointed that I wasted a lot of my college days driving to be with someone who wound up giving me nothing more than a pair of sandals and a whole lot of lies.

So. Signing up for this month abroad was a bit of crazy thing for me. Said person actually told me that I shouldn't go because it would hinder my chances of getting a teaching job. I'm glad I shut that idea down and did something for me instead of someone else....so here's how this plays into my life on the island. I'm determined to say yes to everything, within reason of course. Nothing life altering, in order to cancel out some of the no's I've said in the past. I'm determined to show up in Moorhead on June 8th, exhausted, sad, and with absolutely no regrets.

I stay up until early morning clearing the dance floor with my white girl moves. I eat gelato twice in one day. I get shin splints running down the endless hills. I eat Nutella straight from the jar.  I jump in the ocean at 3 am...All accomplished with the necessary power-nap. Although, I don't think that saying yes to everything for one month will make up for all the no's I've said in the past, but it's sure a start.

As cheesy as it sounds, after four years of always trying to please someone, I finally am getting to do what I want. I look back and think, geeze. That was me. The girl who ALWAYS needed to be on the phone. ALWAYS needed to know what was going on. But now. My phone dies and I could care less. I finally feel like everything is falling into place. I've never been one to embrace changes in my life but I think that I've finally realized that a small change that seems so awful at the time will ultimately wind up being for the better. I can honestly say that I am thankful for finally being able to let go of some things in order to find more important things.

Even though we still have two weeks left, I feel inherently sad for the day that I have to leave this beautiful place and all these beautiful people. This trip is such a blessing and has opened my eyes to the fact that one person should never break your world. There's always going to be people out there who bring you down. But I promise. No matter what. There will ALWAYS be people who support you and let you shine.

Love.

ten thangs about santorini

I've been learning a lot in the short time I've been living in Santorini. Here are some of the more important things that should be taken note of should you ever decide a Grecian vacay is in order. 

1. Although it may be TMI, but here on the island, and in most of Greece for that matter, toilet paper shall not be flushed. It's practically one of the commandments around here. I've seen some pretty funny signs in the b-rooms around here denoting this common practice. 

2. Just because it's called orange juice, doesn't mean that it's made of oranges. There's also red juice. And you know what that tastes like? Nothing red I've ever had. 

3. Living in Greece has taught me how to appreciate both good cheeses and bad cheeses. Good meaning, you know, "fresh?", uh...like authentic cheese?  But it also makes me appreciate the good ol' slices of Velveeta, just sayin... First stop when I get home? The refrigerator for some singles. 

4. Let's talk drivers. People around here drive what I image a 4 year old blind tiger, hopped up on Diet Coke and Oreos would drive. So yeah, they drive like wild animals. In 'murrica, peds have the right of way, but here, peds move for the drivers or else they're getting clocked. 

5. Bussickness. Refer to #4... I think I'm going to take up pre-gaming all bus trips with enough Dramamine to knock out a colony of squirrels. The hills hit hard. 

6. There is no such thing as fast food around here. Every meal takes on average 1 hour and can last about as long as you like. The Greeks don't like to rush guests because they think it's rude. But when you're me, I like to eat and run...Not to be confused with dine and dash. I always pay. I'm honest but have ADD.  

7. Nine times out of ten I will order pizza or a cheeseburger at a restaurant and the other time I will be ordering a variation of cheese. I was obviously born with adventure in my soul.

8. If you don't watch your back and apply a healthy amount of SPF 900, the sun is going to get you. If it doesn't burn you, it's probably going to take all of your NRG and then you're in for an unplanned napping experience. 

9. Get on the locals' levels by speaking Greek. Our vocabulary is growing day by day and we are beginning to understand common Greek terms. We can count to ten, ask where the toilet is, and also put other's to shame reciting the Greek alphabet. 

10. Lastly, some may think that listening to the crashing of the waves at night would be annoying but it's actually soothing and can set you off for a nights sleep earlier than expected. It's just something that a CD of wave sounds just can't replicate. It's going to be a terribly sad day when I wake up in the middle of the night to trains instead of tides hitting the shore just meters from my window. 

So there you have it, the top ten observations from common Santorini life. 

Much love.

a day in the life

So as of now I've been living in another country for a solid two weeks and let me tell you, it's probably going to be a doozy coming home. I'm living the life. Everyday I get up, walk a few blocks to Mamma Mia's, the local place we eat breakfast at, promptly eat about 7 pieces of toast, then it's off to the rest of our days festivities. After breakfast, the first thing we do is work on learning Greek. The most useful words I've learned so far are swear words, but really. When listening to locals speak, it's easy to pick out words you recognize and a lot of them are less than appropriate.

After Greek lessons we break into our classes, I'm taking a photography course...again. It's pretty awful. I have to walk around the island and take photos of things I like. I doubt I'm going to make it through the class without crying. PSYCH. It's a very relaxing class. I'm learning a lot about how to use my DSLR, which I didn't in the first class I took. We have simpler shots that are due daily and some larger assignments that are due at the end of the week. We usually get plenty of time to take our photos and most days I have time to work in a proper Greek siesta...If there is one thing that has stayed steady throughout my transition from the states to Santorini is my need for naps. Naps on naps. One day, I took three which would probably not be news to many.

After our photo class, we either have free time or we go on some crazy adventure with Peter. By the end of this stay we will have hiked every inch of the island. Thursday, we took a quality two hour hike to the top of the mountain, and by hike I clearly meant climb. We had to climb over plants, walk on the edge of cliffs, and jump over loose rocks in our path. I spent more time looking where to put my feet then looking at the view...I didn't feel like dying.

If we aren't logged into an exhausting adventure with Peter, I usually spend my time at the hotel pool or at the beach. Earlier this week, I went cliff jumping with some friends. And as tough as I like to think I am, I didn't make it through the first or second jump without a buddy system, holding my hand and counting down. I wasn't afraid of the jump...I was obviously more afraid of losing my top...but public nudity isn't a shame here so I didn't have much to worry about.

Yesterday, was our first weekend off without classes. And man. It was GLORIOUS. Marios, the hotel owner, threw us a pool party in which we celebrated life in Santorini with a free drinks and lots of sun.

It's a tough life here on the island.

Here's the link to my photo blog...ch ch check it out!

http://courtneyinsantorini.blogspot.gr/

Love.

First stop, Athens

We finally arrived at our first destination yesterday in Athens, around 5. After an extremely long day of layovers and and flights, it was nice to finally get to our hotel room and settle in. JOKE. That never happened. We were on the move asap. Peter would not let us sleep or allow us enough time to nap in order to beat jet lag. About an hour after we arrived, we split into groups of 3 or 4 and were expected to find selected important structures in the city, take a photo with it, then move onto the next one. There was a reward on the line for this one, first group to finish won $50 meals with the teachers. UMM? We're all broke. So sign me up for some of that.
So being born with a competitive spirits, we quickly circle the places on the map that we needed to locate and decided on a plan to hit the furthest place from the final destination. Yeah...and that didn't really work out. It was so far away that we kept turning around and going backwards because we couldn't find it. The locals tried to help us, "it's really close, just five more minutes." Twenty minutes later, we finally snapped a photo and off we went.
Having a scavenger hunt around the city not only forced us to keep our eye on the prize but it also kept our minds off of falling asleep at any moment. We also learned about interesting places in the city that we wanted to go again or...wanted to stay away from. Let me tell you. Some people really think American's are helpless and brain dead. Give me a break, my daddy taught me good. After the scavenger hunt we finally got to finish off the night with dinner...at 10 pm. That's at least 5 hours past the normal time I prefer to eat. Then, the best time of the day arrived. We FINALLY got to sleep in a bed for a change and not on the tray table connected to the seat in front of us.
Today, we started off bright and early with a tour of the Athenian Agora. I'm not naturally a history buff but it was pretty awesome to be in the presence of ancient greek historical figures. We broke for lunch and then enjoyed our afternoon hanging at the Acropolis and the Parthenon. It was an astonishing view of the city from where the Parthenon sits. Just unbelievable.

Here are some things I've learned so far...
1. Diet Coke and Coke Lite are NOT the same.
2. Europeans charge for everything...including ketchup and butter. That's a luxury I miss.
3. There is no rhyme or reason to the street systems... Avenues and streets? Probably not. It's a maize.
4. Everything is written in Greek.
5. You need to go somewhere? Put your tennis shoes on. You're going UPHILL. That's new to us.
6. People try to sell you the most ridiculous things...Even their compliments.
7. There are stray dogs and cats EVERYWHERE.

Off to Santorini in the morning. The ascending and descending in the plane is longer than the actual flight which is good. I'm seriously so tired of flying. Can't wait to finally settle in on the island.

Love.

what lies ahead

I finished up student teaching at West Fargo High last week and applied to multiple jobs. Then yesterday, I walked across the stage like a boss, flipped my Cobber ring, and said "see you later" to a few of my best friends. Today I traveled to and from Breckenridge, MN for a last minute job interview before I leave for Greece, TOMORROW. To say the least, the last couple of weeks have been nothing short of insane. After an extremely hectic semester, I finally get to take a deep breath and relax a little bit.

Recently graduating, very recently I mean, is a big enough change in itself. I have to find a job, maybe a new car, and grow up a little, but first I thought I'd take one for the team and hang out in the Mediterranean sun for a few days. I think I can handle it. Although, four years ago, I would've laughed at the idea. I was homesick as soon as my parents dropped me off freshman year...the whole mile and a half from my neighborhood. Hey, I was young and dumb. It may seem like a short or long amount of time depending on how you look at it but spending 30 days in a foreign country is going to be a  challenge for me. I mean. I had to select only a handful of Nike shorts to make the journey. Talk about de-pressing.

But really the biggest challenge of all was probably trying to jam a suitcase full of clothes fit for every occasion. I tried to use an approach that would weed out all the bad items. "On a scale of 1-1000, how much do I think I need this panda bear pillow pet?" There was only one problem in working with this scale. Everything seemed very necessary. And yes. The pillow pet made the cut. And no I'm not ashamed. It doubles both as a pillow and as a pet...soooooo. I'll probably get there and realize I forgot to bring something that actually is important.

Anyway, it's been a long week of wearing the same outfit day after day and I'm ready for a change...Literally.

Love.